*Even though NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio has called for a time out as far as police demonstrations are concerned, protesters aren’t listening.

The bottom line is that activist groups in New York City have rejected a call by the mayor to hold off on any new demonstrations until after the funerals of two NYPD officers who were ambushed and murdered Saturday in Brooklyn.

The killings have aggravated tensions between police, City Hall, and protesters who have staged regular demonstrations since a Staten Island grand jury refused to indict an officer earlier this month in connection with the death of 43-year-old Eric Garner. Amateur video shows the officer putting Garner in an illegal chokehold while questioning him over the sale of untaxed cigarettes.

“We are in a very difficult moment. Our focus has to be on these families,” de Blasio said Monday at police headquarters. “I think it’s a time for everyone to put aside political debates, put aside protests, put aside all of the things that we will talk about in all due time.”

Another group, The Answer Coalition, said it would go ahead with a long-planned march Tuesday evening, and denounced the mayor for what it called an “outrageous” attempt to chill free speech. The New York Post reported that a few dozen protesters staged a “die-in” at Grand Central Terminal before marching toward Times Square.

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